A major distinction between policy and strategy is that former is a guide to the thinking and action of those who make decisions, while strategy concerns the direction in which human and physical resources will be deployed and applied in order to maximise the chance of achieving a selected objective in th face of difficulties.

Policy is contingent decision, whereas strategy is a rule for making
decision. A contingent even is recognised because it is repetitive,
but the time of its specific occurrence cannot be specified. It is
not worth while to require a new decision on what should be done
each time when a contingency arises. It is better to prescribe, in
advance, the response to be made whenever a specified contingency
occurs. This is done through policy formulations. Specification of
strategy is forced under conditions of partial ignorance when
alternatives cannot be arranged and analysed in advance. The
strategy decision is taken under the conditions where all the facts
are not known, which may not be lasting because of the further
knowledge of the facts.

The distinction between policy and
strategy is made in the context of delegation or implementation. The
implementation of policy can be delegated downward in the
organisation, while the strategy cannot, since it requires a
last-minute executive decision.